Singapore’s U15 Mixed Doubles pair of Benaiah Seah and Janelle Chiang were left to rue what could have been, as they let slip a 2-0 lead to lose to 3-2 in the final at the WTT Youth Contender San Francisco III to Chinese Taipei’s Wu Yuan-Kai and Lu Yu-En.

Having asserted their dominance early on, Seah and Chiang raced into an early lead, taking the first two sets 11-7 and 11-9.

In the third set, the Singaporeans held a commanding lead over the Chinese Taipei pair, and victory was within their grasp. Inexplicably though, Seah and Chiang allowed their opponents to mount a comeback as they eventually lost the set 12-14.

That break was all Wu and Lu needed, and they dominated the Singaporean pair in the next two sets, winning 11-1, 11-7 to take the title, with the Singaporeans having to settle for silver.

Seah, 14, and Chiang, 15, had reached the final courtesy of beating two pairs from USA, including home favourites Allen Mao and Anya Shanbhag. They beat Mao and Shanbhag 3-2 (6-11, 11-5, 2-11, 11-7, 11-0) in the Round of 16, before ousting another American pair, Kyler Chen and Tiana Piyadasa, in a come from behind 3-1 (7-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-7). They then beat fellow Singaporeans, Tristen Yee and Chong Zi Sian in straight sets in the semifinals, 11-8, 11-7, 11-3.

Yee and Chong clinched joint-3rd place.

Despite the loss, Seah and Chiang continued their impressive run with back-to-back podium finishes, following their joint-3rd place at the WTT Youth Contender Bangkok II just a week earlier.

Seah, Chiang, Yee and Chong, along with Benjamin Lau and Loy Ming Ying will be flying Singapore’s flag at the upcoming Asian Youth Games in Bahrain in October.